I was watching the popular Korean entertainment show, Culinary Class War, and I watched all 12 episodes last weekend.
I’m impressed by the second-ranked chef, Edward Lee, due to his creativity, passion, and attitude towards his life and work.
In the semi-final, the remaining seven chefs had to compete for a single position in the final contest by making one tofu dish in 30 minutes and surviving until only one chef remained. At the beginning, Edward said tofu is not a food he likes very much, and I thought this might put him at a disadvantage since he is from New York and probably doesn’t have many chances to eat tofu in his daily life. However, it turned out that I was totally wrong.
Edward Lee made six fabulous and creative dishes and became the winner of the semi-final. Even though the time was tight, he created a full menu from appetizer to main course and dessert. Moreover, you can see he is bold and creative when he makes these dishes. For example, he cooked pasta and placed it on a large piece of grilled tofu because he thought tofu is similar to cheese in Western countries, with a comparable texture. He followed the original recipe but replaced the cheese with tofu, creating a new dish.
In the final, Edward used an interesting dish to tell a story about his passion and love for Korean food. I learned from the news that he has a degree in literature from New York University. I think that’s why his creations and presentations are full of romance and feel like poetry.
Translation
我正在看一個受歡迎的韓國綜藝節目《廚藝大對決》，並且上週末我已經看完了全部12集。
我對排名第二的廚師Edward Lee印象深刻，因為他的創意、熱情，以及對生活和工作的態度。
在半決賽中，剩下的七位廚師必須競爭唯一一個進入決賽的名額，他們需要在30分鐘內完成一道豆腐料理，並且一直留到最後一位廚師。起初，Edward說豆腐並不是他特別喜歡的食材，我當時認為這可能會讓他處於劣勢，因為他來自紐約，日常生活中可能沒有很多機會吃到豆腐。然而，結果證明我完全錯了。
Edward Lee做了六道精彩又有創意的料理，並成為了半決賽的冠軍。雖然時間緊迫，他還是創作了一整套餐點，從開胃菜、主菜到甜點都包含在內。而且，你可以看到他在製作這些料理時展現出大膽和創意。例如，他烹製了一道意大利麵，並把它放在一大塊烤豆腐上，因為他認為豆腐在西方國家中有點類似於奶酪，具有相似的質地。他依據原本的食譜，但用豆腐取代了奶酪，創造出了一道新菜。
在決賽中，Edward用一道有趣的菜品來講述他對韓國料理的熱愛與熱情。我從新聞中得知他擁有紐約大學的文學學位。我想這就是為什麼他的創作和呈現方式充滿了浪漫，彷彿詩歌一般。
Edward Lee
